Moderna says its booster significantly increases antibody levels against the Omicron variant

• Moderna said its booster vaccine increases neutralizing antibody levels against Omicron.
• New data shows a 50-microgram dose of the booster increases the level of antibodies 37-fold.

Moderna said Monday that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine significantly increases antibody levels against the Omicron variant.

The biotech company said that its research so far showed that a 50-microgram dose of its vaccine, which is currently the authorized amount for a booster jab, increased the level of antibodies 37-fold, compared with two doses. A full dose of 100 micrograms boosted antibody levels 83-fold, it said.

In a statement to the press on Monday, CEO Stephane Bancel said that the data so far has been "reassuring." The data was taken from lab tests of blood sera from 20 people who received the booster vaccine. These participants received different dosages of the booster vaccine and had low levels of neutralizing antibodies before they received the vaccine. Moderna said it would submit a preprint paper based on the results.

Moderna also said that it is working on an Omicron-specific vaccine.

"We will also continue to generate and share data across our booster strategies with public health authorities to help them make evidence-based decisions on the best vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2," Bancel said.

Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech, which offer an equivalent COVID-19 vaccine, said that early tests indicated that a third dose of their vaccine was necessary to protect against the Omicron variant.

Two doses of the vaccine "may not be sufficient to protect against infection" they said.

The Omicron variant has been spreading across the world at a rapid rate.

"It really is exponential growth the likes of which we haven't seen since the pandemic started," Eric Topol, director at Scripps Research Institute, said in an interview with PBS News Hour on Thursday. He said that it was "unquestionable" that the US is headed to a "bad winter."

Despite this, hospitalization and deaths have remained relatively low so far in the most severely impacted countries. Topol said this could be a sign that vaccination is working to reduce the impact of this outbreak.